HANOVER - Dalton Shaner and Brett Benning each went on scoring binges in Wednesday's sectional semifinal.

But all Eastland coach Tony Dunlap could think about was rebounding, which allowed Dakota to make a comeback in the second half.

The Cougars still edged the Indians, 54-50, but Indian Creek will prove to be a tough test in the River Ridge Sectional final.

"What really disappointed me was our lack of effort screening out and allowing them to get second and third shots," Dunlap said. "That's what made this whole game a struggle, in my opinion.

"We would not screen out until the fourth quarter."

Eastland had an 11-point lead just before halftime and had a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter. But Dakota got an offensive surge on the heels of a Casey Brokhausen 3-pointer and two free throws from Benning.

The 6-foot-5 senior forward then knocked down two free throws, earned three-point play on a putback and another score with 1:28 remaining.

Benning (team-high 37 points) ended up with a crowd-pleasing steal and two-handed slam dunk to tie the game at 40 at the end of the third quarter.

"Our best matchup for Brett, (Skylar) Paulson was out of the game," said Shaner, who finished with a game-high 39 points. "Brett got hot, which isn't very hard for him to do obviously.

"He got in a groove and just did his thing in the third quarter."

Dakota did its thing on the glass as well, outrebounding Eastland 9-4 in the third quarter.

The Indians eventually earned a lead for the first time in more than two quarters, 44-42, before Shaner nailed two key 3s for the Cougars to get back to a two-point advantage.

Shaner was sent to the free-throw line three times in the final two minutes to close out Dakota.

The 6-foot-1 Eastland guard accounted for all of the Cougars' points in the second half. Benning credited Shaner as the reason Dakota could not sustain its lead.

"The kid with number 23 on his back," Benning said. "He made some tough shots and that kid is hard to stop.

"He was really hard to stop down that stretch, plus Eastland always plays really good defense."

Dakota could only score six points in the final five minutes.

"We just found a way to get out of here and play on Friday," Dunlap said. "Against Indian Creek, we're going to have to play a lot better than we did tonight.

"Everything is a concern for me. They're fast, big, they defend and play hard like Dakota and they've got a monster in the middle. It doesn't get any easier.